couple of questions about a 480

[cjj]

And if you're worried about getting too much of the high strength stuff, use purple Loctite 222. Specifically made for locking/sealing small threaded fasteners that require easy disassembly.

http://www.sjgogo.com/pdf/222-en.pdf

I've used it on all sorts of stuff (a lot at work) and never had anything come loose unless I wanted 'em to...

[jingle_jangle]

Great, CJ. Thanks for the tip. Now we have four colors: Blue, green, red and purple.

Personally, I think the red is best for FG.

[bieke]

Also, I noticed that the saddles on my bridge don't have springs (item 06113 on the drawing), is that common as well for bridge of that era (early 1975) ?

Nope. In my case I added that because vibrations were being transferred from the strings to the saddles and causing them to buzz. Adding springs puts a constant force against the saddles to keep them from moving. Same concept applies to the height adjusters.

This is what a stock 480 bridge looks like, minus cover. Also, it'd be great if you posted in the 480 picture thread in the photography section.

thanks Spike.
So to set this spring thing straight (for me at least) once and for all :
stock bridge of a 480 made in January 1975 would have O-rings for the intonation screws and no springs for the saddles ?

I'm leaning towards putting the O-rings back, will decide after band practice tonight
and will post pics in the 480 photo thread later this week
cheers

[IHeartRics]

So to set this spring thing straight (for me at least) once and for all :
stock bridge of a 480 made in January 1975 would have O-rings for the intonation screws and no springs for the saddles ?

To me the intonation screws and saddle screws would be the same thing, and I would refer to the four "post" screws as bridge height adjustment screws (though raising and lowering them could knock out your intonation).

I believe the o-rings were only on the bridge height adjustment screws and there were no springs on the intonation/saddle screws. Thats the way my '73 and '75 are. And frankly, I like a little rattle and buzz. To me in gives a little bit of acoustic-like life to the guitar. Kind of like a little feedback. Just my taste.

[cjj]

Great, CJ. Thanks for the tip. Now we have four colors: Blue, green, red and purple.

Personally, I think the red is best for FG.

And just to clarify, blue (242) and green (290) are both medium strength, essentially the same. The difference is that green is a thinner consistency, designed to "wick" into assembled fasteners whereas blue is meant to be applied before assembly. Actually, most types are meant to be applied prior to assembly, and if you put it on after, it will have much less strength.

I'm guessing Paul, that you apply the red with the toothpick after assembly which is why you don't need a torch to get 'em undone. The red (272 anyway) can be amazingly tough. I've sat with a 1" impact wrench whacking on a bolt for many minutes while an oxy-acetylene torch heats the assembly to near glowing...

[jingle_jangle]

As with any sort of thread locker, surface area will play a big part in strength. The red actually wicks fully into the few threads that secure those 4-40 screws into the sheet steel bridge channel. The combination is just about perfect in this unique case, and even overdoing the application of the red LocTite doesn't cause a lot of difficulty here.

A 1" impact wrench, eh? That would indicate big rig repair and a fairly large bolt and thread area. It would have required getting the whole localized area up to red heat in order to break the bond. Size is a major factor.

[cjj]

Makes sense, there wouldn't be a lot of material in sheet metal & a 4-40 screw.

And yeah, big bolts on tractors... I certainly wouldn't recommend using a 1" impact wrench on a guitar...

[eatswodo]

I certainly wouldn't recommend using a 1" impact wrench on a guitar...

Oh, I don't know - there might be one or two candidates for that kind of treatment...

[jingle_jangle]

Beat me to it, Dave!

[cjj]

Of course, for fakers, an impact wrench be completely the wrong tool.

This would be far more appropriate: